Bristol Youth empowerment group win Queen’s Award

Image copyrightBabbasaImage caption The group wants to support 150 vulnerable young people

An organisation helping vulnerable young people to achieve their dream careers has received an acclaimed award.

The Bristol not-for-profit group, Babbasa Hub, has been given the Queens Award.

Babbasa’s founder, Poku Osei said it was an “immense honour” to be recognised nationally.

But he said the group has been “hit hard” by the coronavirus pandemic.

He said they needed to make sure they were supporting young people “through this hard time”.

Since 2013, Babbasa Hub has since supported over 2,200 Bristol people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Cameron, 17, from Bristol, was supported by Babbasa to gain the carpentry skills he wanted during a time in his life where he faced violence and instability at home.

He said: “I was determined to not allow what had happened in my life control my position or purpose.”

Daniella, 17, from Bristol, has physical disabilities and was homeless after coming to England from Barbados.

She said: “I went from being very quiet and barely speaking during class, to being able to actually stand up and speak to a room filled with 100 people.

She added: “That’s the confidence that Babbasa gave me.”

The organisation has also launched a Beyond Covid Appeal to help retain their frontline case workers during and after the pandemic to continue supporting young people experiencing “anxiety” and “loss of purpose”.